Odra Noel is a scientific artist who has just created and released a piece she called “The Map of Health.” The map provides a visual representation of diseases affecting regions of the world. What’s more is that she uses depictions of affected body parts by each disease for each disease. The USA, which struggles with obesity and obesity-related diseases, is speckled with fat tissue. And with HIV being a leading cause of death in many countries of Africa, the continent is covered in images of blood cells. It’s an interesting and insightful map, one that might lend some thought or conversation about the people we meet when we travel and what kinds of illnesses they deal with regularly.

The Perennial Plate’sDaniel Klein and Mirra Fine did an excellent job with this short film featuring Japan, “From Japan With Love (And Dashi)”. The video, which I first saw on Laughing Squid, highlights the food and sights of Japan. This footage is beautifully spliced together and backed up with cool music, too! But be warned: some of the food preparation footage, as you might suspect, is a little graphic for those who may not want to connect the dots between their food and the animal from which it came so swiftly. With that said, it’s worth the watch, enchanting and currently persuading me to hop on the next flight to Japan.

For anyone who saw it, a dark version of Manhattan was, if nothing else, different. It was spooky for some and plain frightening for others, but no matter what, it was new. The darkness that blanketed the city during and after Hurricane Sandy dressed Lower Manhattan in a stillness not usually seen within the city. Thanks to Laughing Squid, I saw this video, which captures the experience of city blackness with excellent footage and narration. Titled “NYC Dark,” this collaboration between Jared Levy, Michael Marantz and Already Alive is a good one worth watching.

I’m so thankful for artists everywhere. Art is one of the fundamental facets of interesting travel for me. Whether I’m admiring architecture, murals or spending time in a gallery, the people in this world who take the time to create beautiful things truly do enhance it. And so with that, I share with you the news that Barry McGee currently has an exhibit running at the Berkeley Art Museum that seems worth checking out if you’re in the area. Laughing Squid wrote about the exhibit and stated that McGee will be displaying artwork created as long ago as the 1980s. From painted bottles to a recreated bodega, this exhibit appeals to all senses. The Berkeley Art Museum is open Wednesday-Sunday in Berkeley, California.

The folks over at Laughing Squid manage to regularly expand the spectrum of cool information going into my brain. I thank them for that. A while back they posted a little piece about the droplet installation inside of Singapore‘s Changi Airport. Titled “Kinetic Rain,” the installation of 608 copper-plated droplets is jaw-dropping. These droplets emulate rain droplets and through computer-controlled motors in the ceiling, the droplets actually move like waves. Executed by the German art studio ART+COM, this airport attraction is wildly impressive. Take a look at the above video to glean more information about this beautiful airport art.